Reverend G. Vale Owen was born in Birmingham, England in 1869. He was educated at Midland Institute and, in 1893, ordained by the Bishop of Liverpool. He worked as a curate in several parishes in Liverpool until 1900 when he became vicar of Orford.

Owen’s psychic abilities manifested after his mother’s death in 1909. He began to receive communications via automatic writing from her in 1913. These impacted him so significantly that he converted to Spiritualism, much to the dismay of his bishop. Church authorities were unhappy with Owen’s spiritual practices and forced him out of his parish in 1922. At that point he began to actively promote the religion, and toured England and the United States.

The messages Owen received were transcribed into articles for The Weekly Dispatch and then into a series of books during the 1920s. The Life Beyond the Veil was composed of four books: The Lowlands of Heaven, The Highlands of Heaven, The Ministry of Heaven and The Battalions of Heaven. Outlands of Heaven contained two books: The Children of Heaven and The Outlands of Heaven.

The first entry in The Lowlands of Heaven is dated Tuesday, September 23, 1913. His mother said that she lived in the first sphere of heaven, where recently passed souls arrive. She described it as “earth made perfect.” The level does not have a fourth dimension which made it difficult for her to describe adequately, but there are “…hills and rivers and beautiful forests, and houses, too….” Her major concern was readying the place for the arrival of others.  

She went on to describe a series of crystal halls of different colors. They were places to study the effects of color on the physical world. “Our environment is part of us,” she said. “Just as with you, and light is one component, and an important one, of our environment. Therefore, it is very powerful in its application, under certain conditions, as we saw it in these halls.”

Owen’s description of the spirit world continued with communications from Zabdiel, a spirit who resided in the tenth level of heaven. Zabdiel made it clear that the numbering system for the levels of heaven is an artificial construction, but it is easily understood. Zabdiel’s main occupation was helping others ascend.

Zabdiel said, “For not until a man has learned to love all without hating any is he able to progress in this land where love means light,and those who do not love move in dim places where they love their way, and often become so dull in mind and heart that their perception of the truth is as vague as that of outward things.”

A new group of spirits came forward to present information in The Ministry of Heaven. Their stories were similar to Zabiel’s. There was also an account of a mission down to the Lower Zone, where they assisted those who undergoing intense suffering.

Owen’s writings impressed Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, a famous Spiritualist at the time. When questioned about Owen’s legitimacy, Conan Doyle wrote a letter to the Editor of Light.  He told people who thought Owen was just trying to make money that, “It is not sufficiently known that Mr. Owen refused to take any remuneration for the Script when it was published in Lord Northeliffe’s paper. Also, that he worked without any profit for himself in America. Since then he has had one long lecture-tour in the provinces which did much good, but which placed a great strain upon his health without any corresponding pecuniary return.”

Owen eventually became pastor of a Spiritualist congregation in London. By that time, his financial resources were severely depleted. Conan Doyle organized a collection for him and created a trust fund that provided him financial support for the rest of his life.

In 1931, Owen he fell ill, probably exacerbated by the strain of mediumship. He died in March of that year, aged 61.

Additional reading:

Owen, G. V. (1921)The Life Beyond the Vale: A Compilation of Four Classic Books. Republished by Square Circles Publishing 2014.

Owen, G.V. (1921)The Outlands of Heaven: The Life Beyond the Veil Volume 5. Reprinted by lulu.com 2017

Conan Doyle, A. (2009) History of Spiritualism. Cambridge Publishing Classics Texts. CSP Classic Texts, New Edition.